Guarujá
is one of nine new sites in 2008 on the SWATCH-FIVB World Tour calendar along
with Adelaide (Australia), Guaruja (Brazil), Sanya (China), Prague (Czech
Republic), Osaka (Japan), Myslowice (Poland), Moscow (Russia), Barcelona (Spain)
and Dubai (United Arab Emirates). Guarujá hosted a SWATCH stop in 2000 where
Marcio Araujo and Benjamin Insfran won their first-ever SWATCH event. Brazil has
hosted the most SWATCH-FIVB World Tour events, including 29 men’s and 24 women’s
events. The 2008 Guarujá stop marks the 22nd year that Brazil has hosted a men’s
SWATCH stop and 16th-straight season staging a women’s event. Except for the
2004 men’s event in Rio de Janeiro, teams from the South American country have
medaled for host Brazil. Brazil also hosted the 2007 PanAm Games in Rio de
Janeiro where Brazilians Emanuel Rego/Ricardo Santos and Juliana Felisberta
Silva/Larissa Franca captured the titles. Pictured below are the 2007
SWATCH-FIVB World Tour champions (left to right) Emanuel, Ricardo, Larissa and
Juliana with SWATCH rep Nadia Waelti.

Guarujá is a municipality in the São Paulo state of Brazil with a population
over 300,000. Located in the Santo Amaro island, Guarujá's main economic sources
are seasonal tourism and port related activities. A preferred weekend
destination for families, Guarujá is 87 kilometres southeast from the São Paulo
and less than 90 minutes from the city through the Imigrantes highway. Traffic
gets heavy during the evening in 3-day holidays. The best beaches are at Enseada
(the most popular and a hotspot for jetskying), Pitangueiras, Astúrias, Tombo,
Tortugas, Pernambuco and Perequê. Other top attractions are Acqua Mundo Theme
Park, the biggest aquarium in South America with more than 700 species of
aquatic animals, and Barra Grande Fortress, a fortress built in 1584.